Chasing The Cure
by PurpleLightningDerp
Summary: Set in the beginning of the outbreak, four new heroes journey around the world in search of the cure to end the zombie plague. As they travel around the globe the group will meet many friends and foes from the main storyline, all while trying to survive the endless zombie horde. Rated T for Language, some elements of horror, and blood/gore. (WORK IN-PROGRESS)
1. Chapter 1: Danny

**Chapter One**

* * *

"_**Speak.**_"

"I have nothing to say."

"_**Doctor Meyer, I require the research you acquired.**_"

"Nein."

"_**I will take it by force if I must.**_"

"Do it. I dare you."

"_**Very well, Nadine. Have it your way...**_"

* * *

Danny was just like anyone else. He had a girlfriend, was going to school to get his degree, and even had a decent car. Yet, he still couldn't figure out how he wasn't one of _them_.

"Of all the fucking ways to die… why couldn't it be a giant tornado or something?" he muttered under his breath as he brushed his shaggy brown hair out of his face. Danny cowered behind one of the shelves inside the campus' bookstore, quietly holding his legs close to his body. He was wearing an old pair of jeans, some t-shirt for a band he couldn't name, and an old letter jacket he found on the ground when he ran in.

Danny shuttered, "I can't believe It's mid July... yet it's flippin' f-freezing…" he muttered. A few tears fell from his eyes, as he silently weeped. No matter how hard he tried, his fear seemed to bring him back to this endless nightmare.

"Alright, Dan… calm down… it's all good," he tried to reassure himself, "Y-you'll wake up… from this h-horrible… horrible dream and… and…"

He slowly raised his head to where he could see outside the shop, "... or not…".

The streets outside were burning, shops and businesses turning to ash, shattered glass covered the ground outside buildings that the living dead had breached to reach helpless victims. The few people he could catch sight of were being chased by hordes of the yellow eyed creatures. Their screams were beginning to fade into zombie moans, which only could mean Danny didn't have long before he would be found out.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"He hissed, and slowly turned around and sat with his back to the shelf.

He started quietly breathing warm air into his shaking hands, thinking of any way he could get out of the building. Then the alarm went off, signaling the door to the shop opened. Slow footsteps could be heard, maybe even a leg dragging on the hardwood floor. Danny clenched his fists and stopped his breathing. He looked across the aisle and saw someone's bag laying on the floor. Maybe it would have something he could use to defend himself! Danny carefully slid his palm across the floor, praying to every god that he believed or didn't believe in that the creature wouldn't hear him.

The bag had an eerie glow to it, he figured it was just a flashlight or something, but at that point Danny could care less about the light. He gently slid the bag toward him and stood still to listen for the zombie. The room was silent. He quietly put a hand in the bag, grabbed something, and pulled it out. An evil laugh filled the room, almost as if satan was chuckling about his petty attempts at survival. He looked down and was holding a teddy bear that had a missing ear and blood stains all over it.

"I want to play a game!" a voice of a girl he couldn't see suddenly yelled.

"What…?" Danny mumbled.

There was a zombie's shriek to his right, and he jumped up and looked in it's direction.

"No! Leave me alone!" Danny yelled.

He pulled his arm back to throw the bear in a useless attempt to distract the zombie, but stopped and quickly brought his hand back down. An M1911 handgun had taken the place of the stuffed toy.

Without hesitation, Danny fired round after round into the beast's chest. After he emptied two clips, missing most of his shots, the zombie's eyes lost their color and it fell to the ground.

"Jesus…" he covered his mouth with one hand as tears ran down his face, "_I'm a murderer…_".

He stared at the lifeless body until more zombie shrieks came from outside. "I have to get out of here," He ran back over to the door, and hesitantly out into the street.

All that he used to know was gone.

No one was living anymore. The city he knew was turned into an absolute wasteland. The sky was a dark black, the air smelled of ash and burning flesh, but worst of all the flesh was still moving. Zombies were slowly moving from the fires, their tattered remains holding the flame to their bodies. Multiple clouds of dirt shot up from the ground shortly followed by a head or an arm. Danny just ran. Moaning figures zoomed past him as he ran through the crowds, looking for any way out. Suddenly, out of no where, he heard a train blast it's whistle. He snapped back into reality for a split second. A train! Someone else was still alive! He bolted for the station, not even daring to look behind him.

After eventually reaching the Russel M. Anne Train station, Danny forced his way through the revolving doors and found himself inside the main terminal. Incredibly, it still looked a lot better than the rest of the town. Somehow the station was almost exactly how he remembered it as a little boy. The station still had it's gold glow to it, the walls were still made of that really nice wood Danny remembered, and even that giant sign with all of the departure times was still there. Fewer undead were in the station, Danny assumed this was because most of the people tried to escape by train, but surely more would come after him eventually. He weaved his way past the zombies, and found himself on one of the platforms, which then opened up out into the trainyard.

Danny Cautiously weaved his way through the old train cars toward the spot where he last saw the smoke rising into the air. He cringed every time his feet sunk down into the gravel and tightly gripped his pistol. Every shadow, sound, and crunch of his shoes on the rock frightened him. He made his way onto another set of train tracks and looked down at his feet.

"Well…" he sighed as he looked up at the sky, "Looks like the smoke came from here… but a train doesn't just disappear…"

Danny gazed to the right, up the track. No sign of any black fog. He turned to the left and froze.

Fear had him locked in place.

He suddenly forgot how to breath.

Danny's hands began to violently shake as he stared down a steam powered train raced down the track toward him.


	2. Chapter 2: All Aboard

**Chapter Two**

* * *

"_Doctor Richtofen, I do not understand why we bother keeping them here. They are use-_"

"_**Relax. It will all make sense in time. Have you made progress on the barrier?**_"

"_We have gotten the creature to stop attacking the researchers._"

"_**Good. Are you positive it will be ready in time? **_"

"_Based on results, It will be completed before the end of the month._"

"_**You best make sure it is. I do not know how much longer we can keep them contained.**_"

* * *

Danny stared wide eyed at the locomotive that was rapidly approaching him. He dived to the left and tightly hooked his arms around a handle on a train car. Before he knew it the train was whizzing past him, and brought a huge gust of wind with it. The wind was cold and rough, urging him to let go of the car. Danny's arms were starting to give out, so he turned his head against the wind and tried hard to hold his eyes open to see how much longer until the train was gone.

Then a man's head popped out from one of the open cars on the moving locomotive. Danny's first thought was a zombie, but this one didn't have glowing yellow eyes. It stuck a hand out like it wanted him to grab it when the car came by.

"This guy is crazy…" he mumbled under the wind and stuck out a hand, "I must not be much smarter if I'm going along with it…"

The car passed by and their hands slapped, and locked together. In an instant Danny was yanked from his spot and pulled along with the train. Suddenly he felt something in his body crack, and howled in pain. He looked at his left arm just in time to see it unwind from the other train after the bone broke in two.

"Come on Lad!" The man yelled in his Irish accent, "Don't think about the arm! I need a little help here, I can't just lift you all on my own!"

Danny desperately reached with one of his legs to get a hold on a part of the train, and placed it on a small little rod.

"I need you to hurry!" The man yelled again.

He kicked off from the rod as the man pulled him into the car and sighed happily.

"Well lad," he nodded, "glad we got through that mess before we got further down the track. No doubt you would have hit something."

The man pulled the door to the car closed and then helped Danny over to a crate he could sit against. The inside of the car was dark and cold. It was filled with many crates that had been strategically placed so people could move around the car. After Danny was set down, the man opened up a small crate, pulled out a lantern, and tried to light it, but had no luck.

"Only one box on this god damn train had any source of light," he said to Danny, "the others were just filled with absolute crap."

"Name's Harold. What about you?" He said.

"Danny," He winced in pain, "And no thanks to you!" Danny looked at his arm. It was swollen, turned all different shades of purple, and stung like his arm was cut off. "My arm will probably never work again because of you!"

Harold just laughed as he finally got the lantern to work. He was in a conductor's uniform, hat and all. A well groomed mustache that curled on the ends sat on his lip, along with these round glasses that looked like they had been scratched to hell.

"You'll live lad," Harold finally said, "The girl doesn't want you to die quite yet."

"...girl…?" Danny asked.

"You found the bear too, right?" Harold asked as he held up his own M1911, "Did it not strike you odd how you were not chased by the creatures after that moment? They only walked or wobbled behind you didn't they?"

"Well that is true that they didn't-"

"Exactly. She _wants _you to live, Daniel. She has spoken to me once before though. I believe it was, '_The game begins when four collide._'"

"When four collide?"

Harold sat down on the ground by Danny and moved the lantern with him. He took a long moment to look at Danny's arm before replying, "When we meet two other people who found the bears, this girl is going to unleash hell on us."

* * *

Nadine watched from a hill top, as the zombie outbreak took yet another step in finishing taking over America. She wore her Nazi officer cap with her blonde hair neatly inside, and a white, blood stained lab coat that went down to her knees, bloody khakis, and combat boots. She enjoyed watching the zombies spread, just as much as her employer did, but she was not here to simply just gaze upon Group 935's achievements.

"Yo. Doych-bag. Are you going to just sit there and watch those beasts, or are we going to kick some undead ass?"

She turned around to face her extremely annoying American partner. Rachel was wearing cargo pants and boots, had dog tags hanging from her neck, a green tank top, and had her long brown hair up in a ponytail. "Listen you Yankee doodle dummy," She snapped back in her German accent, "do you want to cure this disease or not?!" Rachel never really seemed serious. All she ever wanted to do was kill! But although Rachel was bothersome, Nadine definitely needed the backup for when the zombies got out of hand.

Rachel gave a grunt and frowned, "Damn, calm down Adolf. I'm only wanting to see some action!"

"Don't worry… You will get to see plenty of that as soon as we find the other two."

"Yeah… about that… could you run that whole thing by me again?"

Nadine walked up to her and sighed, "The bear you found was from Samantha, the girl who is controlling these monsters. She said we needed a group of four before her 'game' would begin. Now, this means that any hidden 935 outposts in America will have massive amounts of zombies so we can find them. Documents on the cure progress should be contained somewhere-"

"Yeah, yeah. Blah, blah, zombies, blah, blah, four people, blah, blah, get the cure and save the world. Got it!" Rachel said.

Nadine rolled her eyes and returned to looking at the town. When she looked back she saw smoke rising up and moving fast.

"Look!" She pointed at a train pulling quickly out of the town, "Someone is still alive down there!"

Rachel held her arms up in a victory stance. "Yes! Finally!" She yelled and ran past Nadine, "Move it or lose it, German!" She jumped from the side of the hill and slid down the edge toward the train.

"Ugh. Never patient, that one." Nadine quickly jumped after her.

* * *

"So what were you even doing on this train, Harold?" Danny asked him suddenly. He winced in pain again as he rolled onto his side cradling his arm.

"Me? Looking for supplies mostly, lad. I've been fighting these beasts for… oh… about three years or so," he replied.

"They've been around for that long?!"

"Longer I assume. I have a feeling the government tried to hide it from the public. Brings back memories of the Kennedy assassination."

"Who knows, if they have been around for a while... maybe even Kennedy was killed by zombies too."

Harold sighed and nodded. "That may have been the case, lad."

Suddenly there was a loud thunk over head, as if something had dropped onto the top of the train car. "T-trains don't make t-that noise… d-do they?" Danny asked through gritted teeth.

"No," Harold responded, "Zombies do."

* * *

"That was anything but a soft landing, Nadine!" Rachel complained as she pulled herself up on top of the train car.

"Quit your whining! We need to search these cars for the survivors before this train gets going any faster. We don't want to get thrown off," She pointed to the back of the train, "You start going that way, I will go this way."

The hatch to the car below them opened and a handgun came up first, followed by Harold. He pointed it at them as he climbed up to the top of the car. He remained silent as he pointed the gun at the two girls.

"Hello!" Nadine said to him," We want to know if you have seen any teddy bears around here."

"Why would I know of such a silly thing?" He replied.

"We found two and just had to have more."

"No!" Harold said, "I will not have you bring the hell the little one speaks of!" He walked closer to the girls.

"Whoa, buddy!" Rachel said to him, "We are friends. Amigos. Das… uh… not enemies. We're not going to kill you."

"Lies! You're mocking me! The last man that tried to get me to believe that stole my supplies!" He yelled and pointed the gun at her.

Nadine instinctively lunged for his weapon. She got one hand around the gun, and pulled on it. Harold quickly reacted by pulling the trigger and firing a loose bullet. She threw her fist up into his jaw, causing him to release the gun and fall back, but she fell as well and dropped the weapon off of the train. She reached inside her labcoat to get her pistol, but she couldn't find it. Then she looked up at Harold. He had a stern look on his face as he pointed _her _weapon at her face. Nadine was in total shock. "H-how…?" She muttered.

"I learned a few tricks riding these metal beasts, lady." He walked up to her and held the handgun only inches away from her face. Rachel just stood there in admiration of Harold's skill and laughed at Nadine.

"I could use a little help here!" Nadine hissed.

"Nope! I'm not getting shot here!" Rachel replied with a chuckle.

Harold held the gun close to her. "Why are you here?" he asked seriously, "Why are you_ really _here?"

"I might know a way to cure the plague," She said through clenched teeth, "I had to get the girl to play her game to release the zombies so I would know where to go!" Nadine was laying down flat on the train staring into the gun.

"I don't believe you." Harold brushed his finger along the trigger.

Danny's head popped up from the open hatch, "Harold, you better not be dead. I'm fucked if you are…" he looked at what was happening for a second. "What the hell?!"

"They're thieves Daniel! Go back down and be careful of your arm!" Harold yelled, not taking his eyes off of Nadine.

Danny looked over and finally saw Nadine at gunpoint. Suddenly the girl he heard earlier spoke again, starting with that demonic laugh. "Now we can begin!"

Harold didn't flinch.

Danny turned pale.

Rachel grinned childishly.

And Nadine glared at Harold.

"It appears you don't have much of a choice now, but to trust me." She said to the conductor, "I am the only one who can end this madness."

Harold took a quick second to think it over, then picked her up by the collar of her shirt, "You live for now. Give me one reason though," he said sternly, "and I will make you wish that I had killed you."


	3. Chapter 3: The Game Begins

**Chapter Three**

* * *

"_You have been meddling with Time again._"

"_**So? I did it with good intentions. I simply overshot that time period.**_"

"_Yes, but that means the timeline is altered._"

"_**I don't need a history lesson.**_"

"_If you keep changing the history books you will._"

"_**I am simply changing things in my favor, and removing what I do not require.**_"

"_So you did alter what happened at Griffin Station._"

"_**Not just what happened on the moon. I rewrote the events at the siberian outpost, the temple, the cosmodrome, and all before it.**_"

* * *

The train began moving at an incredible speed, undoubtedly being controlled by the girl.

"Where is she taking us?" Danny asked, "If this girl, samantha, wants to kill us why not just send the zombies into the train?"

Nadine was standing with her back to the walls of the car. After the incident on the roof, the four had come down and not said a word until Danny broke the silence.

"She is just a girl," she replied, "Sam still likes to play games."

Harold pulled a cigarette out of a pocket in his uniform, lit it, then stuck it in his mouth. "Where could she possibly be taking us?"

"Well," Nadine sighed, "I would imagine it would be the nearest 935 outpost. From there she could force us onto a teleporter and-"

"Whoa!" Rachel exclaimed, "Since when did the Nazis get their hands on teleporters?!"

"My boss, Doctor Edward Richtofen and his partner Doctor Ludwig Maxis created the first working teleporter. They replicated it and planned on using it to invade other countries after they were able to break the '_trust barrier_' on the zombies."

Danny shuttered, "Did they ever break the barrier?"

Nadine chuckled and sat down by him, "No. They lost control of the zombies so they have me looking for the cure research they kept here."

Harold blew a puff of smoke out of his mouth then crossed his arms, "So, what all do we need to know about before going into this place, Nadine?"

"Well…did any of you reach into your pockets _after_ you got the pistol?"

Nadine groaned when only Harold raised his hand.

"Check them. You'll find a watch, a combat knife, ammo clips for any gun you are carrying and your weapon if you ever lose it." She pulled out her own as proof. "This was in his pocket," she pointed to Harold, "but now we both have our own weapons." Nadine put the pistol away and rolled up her coat to show the others the watch. "This watch is your point counter and total ammo. You will have ammunition clips in your pocket until this number hits zero."

"Wait," Rachel interrupted, "Points? This girl is keeping score?!"

"Think of it more as money," Nadine quickly replied, "money for what though, I'm not sure."

Danny tapped her on the shoulder with his good hand, "How do you know all of this anyways?"

"My boss fought the zombies a long time ago," Nadine said, "he would tell me all of these crazy stories about how he and these other men traveled around fighting these creatures."

Danny was about to input something else when he felt a sharp pain in his arm, worse than when it was broken. He fell onto his side in pain, yelling and holding his arm close to his chest. Harold quickly knelt down next to him, then looked at Nadine.

"What did you do?!" He yelled at Nadine.

"I didn't do anything! He just started screaming!"

After a few more minutes of howling in pain, Danny gasped for air as he rolled onto his back.

"I'm not sure what… happened…" he wheezed, "it was just a sudden wave of pain."

Nadine looked at his arm then back at Danny. "Look."

He looked down at his arm that had been clearly snapped in two, however, it was no longer broken. His skin wasn't a disturbing mix of black and purple anymore. The bone was repaired.

"How…?"

Harold looked at the arm then helped Danny sit up. "I think this Samantha girl has either taken a liking to you, or is making sure you're going to play this game, lad."

* * *

**Round I**

**Danny**- 500pts

**Harold**- 500pts

**Nadine**- 500pts

**Rachel**- 500pts

* * *

The place looked like an abandoned factory, not exactly what Danny imagined it would look like. It was a large, old, brick building. The windows, if they were not broken were cracked or had a small piece missing. Surrounding the building was a large brick fence with an iron gate that was rusted all over. The group entered the property, and the gate slammed shut behind them.

"I hope you know what you're doing…" Danny whispered to Nadine.

"You're expecting to find a cure in an abandoned factory?" Rachel said, "You really have gone cuckoo, German."

"Silence you American idiot! Do you want the zombies to hear you?!" She hissed at Rachel, "This isn't a factory anymore, anyways! Think! It's a 935 outpost!"

Harold walked up to the factory doors and turned the handle. The door didn't budge. He sighed and turned to face the group. "Too late. The game has begun."

Slow walking zombies started to move toward the group. A few came from inside the factory, breaking windows in the process.

"Aim for the head!" Nadine shouted over the zombie roars.

Harold pulled out his knife and forced it deep inside the chest of a zombie. The eyes grew dim, and it fell to the ground. Then he looked to his watch.

"A hundred and Thirty for each knifed beast, lads and lasses!" He shouted as he stabbed another.

"Ten thousand points I can get a higher score than you all!" Rachel yelled.

"You're on!" Harold replied.

Nadine kicked the factory door open after acquiring enough points to open it. "Come on! We don't have time for this!"

Danny bolted in after her, firing blindly at the zombies behind him.

The inside looked like something out of a movie. Desks with test tubes and beakers filled with unknown chemicals filled the room. Every two or three tables had a file cabinet between it, and two or three looked like they had a computer set up.

"Where are the perks?!" Nadine yelled as she looked around the room, "Where is the teleporter?!"

Danny turned around and fired a full clip at a zombie, All eight bullets hitting it's chest. The beast looked down and screamed. Danny went up to it and stabbed his knife into it. "Nadine! These things are getting stronger!"

"Grab a gun off of the wall!" When Danny looked where she was yelling from, she was on the other side of the room running up stairs to the roof.

* * *

"I have a feeling this is not the real first stop, Rachel." Harold said as he took out a crowd with an M14 he got from a chalk drawing on the wall, "I'd imagine a little girl would think of a place more horrifying than this!"

Rachel was still using her knife, only it wasn't killing them on impact now. "What are these guys made out of?! Solid Rock?!"

"You could use a gun you know!"

"And lose points? No Way!" She ran inside the building to get away from the hordes of creatures, followed by Harold after he was overwhelmed.

Danny was fighting off his own crowd when they entered. He sprayed bullets out of the MP40 he got off the wall, until every last beast was dead.

"Way to waste Ammunition, hot-shot." Rachel yelled as she tried to keep the zombies from entering the building.

"Bite me," He muttered, "Nadine ran up to the roof! We need to get going before these get worse!"

Suddenly, the zombies stopped coming. A very thick fog filled the building and the area outside. Then Samantha spoke again, "_Fetch me there souls!_"

Lightning struck the ground outside and the three watched in horror as a dog with fur black as night and eyes red like the depths of hell slowly walked toward them.

"Hell-hounds…" Danny whispered through gritted teeth.

More lightning struck, some even inside the building. The dogs easily outnumbering the three of them.

"Daniel take the door," Harold whispered, "Rachel, our backs. I'll take the others."

Danny's hands violently shook as he raised the gun, "R-Ready."

"Finally some real action!" Rachel yelled as she pulled out her pistol and fired on the animals.

Harold could feel the heat from the dogs as he took on the main door with Danny. It felt as if these animals had just came from hell.

"There's too many at the front! We can't hold them back!" Harold yelled as he turned and ran toward the staircase.

"Right behind you, train master!" Rachel hollered as her and Danny followed as well.

"A secret teleporter room, how clever, " Nadine mumbled to herself as she finished climbing the steps.

* * *

The roof was a fake. They had created a second floor so they could store the teleporter without concern. It was a large contraption that was hollow in the middle so people could stand on the platform. The pad was linked to one across the room to test the teleportation, but if charged enough could easily travel anywhere or even be capable of time travel. Next to the teleporter was a small desk with a computer set up, more than likely linked to the teleporter. She moved over to the desktop and scanned through the files.

Teleporter settings. Locked.

Power levels. Minimal, only enough for one more teleport.

Research Logs. Unlocked!

She opened the folder and scanned the documents. Group 935 had thought of everything! Plans for giant robots, notes on the Aether, and just what she was looking for, the Cure research. Nadine gave a sly grin as she read the notes. Now all she had to do was get the pieces.

"Nadine!" Danny yelled as him and the others came flying up the steps, "We need to go!"

She quickly turned around and saw the horde of hell-hounds and zombies chasing the three of them. "Quick everyone in the machine!"

The four turned to face their attackers, undead sprinting toward them with flaming beasts at their side.

"Don't move!" Nadine yelled as she started the teleporter. The teleporter filled with blue jolts of electricity, frying zombies as they came in contact with it but not harming the group. With a blinding flash and a loud bang the four of them were teleported away just as the machine ran out of power.

* * *

After she regained her vision, Nadine stood up and looked around her, the others were gone. She tried to take in a breath, but couldn't. There was no oxygen around her. She looked frantically to the window at her left and noticed it was broken, but she didn't see blue sky outside. The cold black of space greeted her instead. She brought her hands up to her neck as fast as she could in low gravity. Group 935 only had one facility in space that Nadine could name.

"Griff..in… Sta..tion…" She choked.


	4. Chapter 4: Ghosts of The Moon

**Chapter Four**

* * *

"_She still remembers Griffin Station?_"

"_**I said I altered the event, not the person.**_"

"_That doesn't explain how she still remembers it._"

"_**It is a time paradox, all rules of time and space get thrown out of the window. All realities exist and don't exist, so anyone can remember events that technically never happened. So long as whatever is holding the paradox still exists it will never end.**_"

"_What is keeping the paradox going though?_"

"_**I have no idea.**_"

"_Are you not the least bit worried about it?_"

"_**Nein, not at all.**_"

* * *

**Round 21**

Danny- 1750pts

Harold- 2570pts

Nadine- 8520pts

Rachel- 430pts

* * *

Griffin Station looked horrible. The windows of the receiving bay were all shattered, even though power was already on. Harold crawled toward the middle of the room and frantically put the space suit on his body. Air filled his lungs at last as the man slowly rose onto his feet.

"Uh… the last place I expected a little girl to think of would be the moon," he muttered. He looked at his point counter and was instantly baffled.

"I'm very sure I left on round eight, not twenty one, and that I also had far less points…" Harold said.

He took in another deep breath and walked over to a shattered window on the other side of the room. Harold had always wanted to explore space, but never like this. Suddenly, lightning began sparking near where he found the space suit. Nadine appeared out of thin air. She moved over to the window, then fell to her knees gasping for air. Harold bounced over to her and picked her up off of the ground. He carrier her to the suits and as fast as he could, put the equipment on her.

Nadine slowly peeled her eyes open to see Harold standing over her. She coughed as air filled her lungs again.

"I guess you could say I owe you now," Nadine said to him.

Harold shook his head, "You owe me twice now, I didn't kill you on the train remember?" He held a hand out to her and helped her onto her feet, "We need to find Daniel and that psycho chick you were with."

"Agreed, but why did her game not reset?" Nadine asked, "I have a massive amount of points and it looks like the doors are already purchased."

Harold walked over to the door. It slid open automatically when he came close to it. "I think someone else started this game first."

* * *

Danny and Rachel had gotten to Griffin Station about five minutes before Harold. Most of the doors were already open so after they got to a suit, they wandered further into the base. Eventually they came to a room with a strange object in the center of it. It was a large black pyramid that seemed to absorb all light, as it didn't have any glare from the floodlights that were shining on it.

"Damn, Dan," Rachel said, "What is that thing?!"

"I don't have a clue," he replied, "All I know is that thing just feels evil."

Rachel went up and punched him in the shoulder, "You big baby. You're just scared because you have no idea what that is!"

"No," he shuttered, "I mean it just gives off this evil, menacing vibe."

"You're a loon," She muttered.

They turned around after they heard the sound of a door opening. Harold and Nadine slowly bounced down the stairs toward them.

"Ah! I'm glad you are both alright!" Nadine said, "and what have we found here? The MPD?"

"Well at first I wanted to know what this thing is, now I really don't care," Rachel muttered.

"Did I say I'm glad both of you are alright?" Nadine said, "I only meant Danny."

"Ladies, I do believe we have larger problems at hand!" Harold pointed at the base of the pyramid.

Four zombified figures slowly bounced out from behind the pyramid. They each looked different from the other. Nadine fell to her knees and put her hands up to her helmet.

"That's Doctor Richtofen," she said softly as she pointed to the Zombie that wore a Nazi officer uniform.

"Who are the others…?" Harold whispered.

"That is Dempsey," She pointed at a zombie that had what looked like blonde hair, dog tags, and a shredded marine uniform.

"Takeo," The zombie wore a Japanese imperial army outfit with a hat that came over his eyes.

"And Nikolai," She moved her hand over to the last zombie who had it's head wrapped up with a Soviet soldier's suit, "They were the ones who started this game of Sam's, now we are the ones to take their place and finish it."

The four zombies floated toward the group. Rachel pulled out her gun and fired two clips into zombie dempsey's chest. All it did was anger the creature.

"It's round twenty-one you moron! We might as well be slapping them to death!" Nadine yelled, "Let's just find what we need and leave! This obviously isn't our game!"

"Sam will still try to kill us either way!" Harold yelled.

"Enough!" Danny yelled at them both, "We don't have time for this! Let's get what we need and leave before we join those four in hell!"

Nadine frowned then looked at Danny, "You're right. Look, we need a vial of souls." She pointed to the pyramid, "That thing absorbs souls into that glass vial when zombies are killed near it, so if we kill them it should be enough."

Danny looked at the pyramid again. Surrounding the vial was various zeros and ones that seemed to be floating around it and changing between the two numbers. As they began to vanish he got a severe headache. Nadine looked at him with concern and Danny just nodded that he was alright.

Rachel frowned, "How are we going to kill them then?"

"The Mystery Box, my dimwitted companion," Nadine grinned.

* * *

Deep inside the station was a large glass dome, sealed off, filled with breathable oxygen, and actually growing trees on the barren surface of the moon. The four gathered around the strange box and gazed in awe. It appeared to be made of wood, had an old rusty lock on it, and two yellow question marks that alternated from dim to bright. Rachel went up and kicked the box. Nothing happened. Nadine kicked it and the wooden crate opened up. A weapon rose up from the bottom, as if it were there the entire time, and slowly started descending back inside.

"Ooh! Grab that! Scar-H!" Rachel yelled.

Nadine picked up the rifle and the box slammed shut, "I'm set. Danny, you next."

He bumped the box with his foot and again it opened. A strange handgun rose up from it. It looked like something out of an old Sci-fi movie.

Nadine grinned, "Raygun! That's a very rare weapon group 935 created!"

Danny grabbed the gun and looked it over, "It looks like a toy," he aimed away from the group and fired a shot. A circle of green energy shot from the end, exploding on impact with the moon's surface.

Harold kicked the box and collected his weapon as well, "Dual pistols does not seem like the ideal weapon."

"It will work for now, Danny's raygun should do the trick," Nadine said.

Rachel folder her arms, "This sucks! You all get cool weapons and I'm stuck with a fucking peashooter!" she pouted.

"I wouldn't worry about it, you probably won't need to do anything anyways. Although it is very odd no other zombies attacked us when we arrived," Nadine inquired.

Danny frowned, "It doesn't seem right though. It's like Sam is having us _continue_ a game for someone else."

Harold laughed, "You're all acting like this is some sort of mystery. Lets just kill those freaks already!"

The four quickly ran back toward the pyramid and the four zombies. Danny pointed his weapon at the creatures and shot six times. Three of the beasts had fallen, their souls being taken into the vial and converted to liquid, but the four only lost it's legs.

"The Richtofen zombie is all that's left," Harold said,"What are you waiting for Daniel?"

Danny turned around and frowned again, "If we kill it, more zombies will attack us. Think about it, four left, no more attacked us, _they all died_," He said softly, "They died at the end of the round, we simply just took their place."

The other three took a second to consider this as the crippled zombie crawled toward them.

"We have no choice," Nadine muttered, "Be ready to run."

"YOU SAID I WOULDN'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT FIGHTING THEM OFF!" Rachel yelled at Nadine, "NOW YOU'RE SAYING I HAVE TO TAKE ON THE HORDE WITHOUT A CHANCE?!"

"Just keep running and don't let them touch you," Harold told her, "You could always just stay behind us."

"Danny, end the round," Nadine said.

He pointed the weapon at the crawler and fired the shot. The vial filled up and detached from the pyramid, Nadine grabbed it and looked back at the others, "Now the fun begins, lets find our teleporter out of here."


	5. Chapter 5: Hard Times

Chapter Five

* * *

"_Sir… We've done it… the barrier has been broken._"

"_**Wonderful, have they been trained at all?**_"

"_They have started to learn basic commands, such as stop, walk, run, and hide._"

"_**We are getting closer and closer to achieving the final goal.**_"

"_You still have not clarified what that exactly is._"

"_**That is because you simply do not need to know, nor will you ever need to know.**_"

"_At some point you will need to tell me._"

"_**Finish building my army, then you will know my plan.**_"

* * *

"How did all of these bodies end up on the moon anyways?!" Harold yelled over the radio inside their helmets. The second the last zombie had died, more flooded into the room. They crawled out of vents, air ducts, even from under the surface of the moon.

"Probably best if you didn't know, Harold," Nadine replied, "All that matters right now is our escape! Push for the staircase!"

The four focused all fire-power on the stairs out of the main chamber. Various undead body parts floated in the air along with bubbles of the creatures' blood. Danny led the charge with the others following closely behind. Up ahead, he led the three out of the station and jumped out through the sliding doors. Hundreds of zombies were there to greet him. Nadine, who was directly behind him, reached out to grab him and pull him back, but missed his suit by an inch.

"No! I can't stop!" Danny yelled as the moons gravity slowly pulled him back down toward the crowd of zombies. The other three did all they could to kill the beasts that were below him, but it was already too late.

His feet touched the ground and the zombies took advantage of his weakness. They tore his suit to shreds, and shattered the glass on his helmet. He frantically shot his Raygun in a useless attempt to stop them. One bit into his arm and he howled in pain, although he couldn't even hear himself. Then the others zombies joined in to finish him off. Rachel threw a grenade into the crowd, hoping to do some damage. Moon rock burst into the air, blocking their view of the crowd. They ran through the floating piece of lunar rock hoping to find Danny in one piece. The three moved through the remains of the crowd toward the center, but it was Nadine who found him first.

She knelt down and lifted Danny up into the air. He didn't move.

Harold bounced over to her and put a hand on her shoulder, "We can't leave him here."

"I agree," Nadine said.

"Uh, guys…" Rachel pointed to the door they came through that now had undead flooding out of it.

Nadine got up and, with Harold's help, ran to the teleporter. This one was much larger than the previous one they had used, which is probably why it was outside the moon base. It was dug out into a crater, and had vents where you could jump down into the MPD room. With Danny's body in hand, they jumped down onto the teleporter pad. Sparks flew up into the air and within seconds Nadine, Rachel, and Harold were transported off of the moon.

* * *

"Here on this beach, we say goodbye to one of our few remaining friends…" Harold said over the small spot of sand they dug for Danny, "May he be free from pain, misery, harm, and free from this wretched place."

They had appeared back on Earth, in the center of some ruined village. They had stripped their suits, seeing as how they could breath now, and walked out of town. After a few miles or so, they came across a beach,where Harold decided he would give the lad a proper burial.

Nadine stared down at his grave with a blank expression, "It's my fault he died, I was right behind him… I could have stopped this."

Harold walked over to her and put his arm on her shoulder, "It couldn't be helped. We were unprepared. It was not even our game to begin with-"

"It was ours to finish though," She interrupted him, "And finish means everyone gets out alive."

Rachel sighed, "Well…what's next, German?"

Nadine looked up and turned around to face her, "I don't know, I would assume Sam put us here for more than just a burial."

"Well, we could check down the beach, see if we find anything," Harold suggested.

"Well," Nadine sighed, "It wouldn't hurt to look."

* * *

The beach seemed to be endless. No sign of anyone, or anything in the area. After another hour or so of walking, Harold stopped and stared out at the water again.

"Yo," Rachel said, "Why'd you stop the train, conductor boy?"

"Did your boss ever say anything about a prison, miss?" He said, ignoring Rachel.

"Nein," Nadine replied quickly.

"Well, it appears Sam has taken us to Alcatraz, or near it at least," He pointed to the prison out in the middle of the bay, "I have no doubt in my mind that's where we are."

"So, we should probably head there," Nadine muttered, "Swimming wouldn't work."

"Maybe we could find a boat?" Rachel added.

"I doubt we could find a working one," Nadine said.

"Well we should still try!"

"There is no point, Rachel!"

The two started arguing, as Harold who didn't want to get in the middle of them walked to the water and just stared at it. Danny was gone. Those two were useless. He was hunting a cure that probably didn't exist. It seemed as if everything decided to go wrong all at once, like a bad horror flick. Suddenly, he looked closer at the water, got down on his knees and squinted. Something was glowing. Harold put his hand in and scooped up the glowing object. Wet sand fell through his fingers as it slowly revealed a stone. It looked as if someone had filled a rock with some kind of glowing blue gel.

"Nadine," Harold yelled, "Come look at this."

Nadine and Rachel glared at each other and walked over to him.

"Wow, you really spent your time well,"Rachel said sarcastically," You found a pretty rock while playing in the sand. Awww."

"Shut it!" Nadine yelled," Here. Let me see it."

Harold handed her the stone, and after she finished looking at it, a huge smile crept onto her face, "Do you have any idea what this is?!"

"If I knew I wouldn't have asked you," He muttered.

"This is a chunk of unrefined element 115! This means a meteor filled with the stuff must have crashed near here, most likely in the bay, but still! This is very good!" She explained as she put the stone in her lab coat.

"That's great and all, but this still doesn't help us get to Alcatraz," Rachel said.

"We could borrow that man's boat," Harold injected. He pointed at a man in a small speed boat that looked like he was fighting someone. His boat was only about a five minute swim away, "If that's what I think he's fighting, he won't be using it for a while."

* * *

Harold was the first aboard. He pulled himself into the boat, and tossed the bodies overboard. Rachel was next, followed by Nadine. Harold wringed his hat, and shirt out then took place at the driver's seat of the boat.

"I hate swimming," Nadine said between gasps of air.

"You just don't like it because you can't handle the-"

"Rachel, shut up. I don't want you two fighting the rest of the way, and attracting every damn zombie near us," Harold said, "I'd bet my life we have some right under the water."

"Then Harold," Nadine said, "Take it slow and just make sure we get there alive."

"That was the plan," Harold replied.

For a while, no one said anything. The small hum of the motor and the splashing of waves against the boat was all that could be heard. Then Rachel leaned over to Nadine and whispered, "I've been meaning to ask you, on the moon when we were all split up, you seemed really concerned for Danny more than anyone else. Did the German have a thing for Danny boy before he died?"

Nadine turned and looked at her in shock, "You honestly think I have time for such feelings in this situation?"

Rachel laughed and laid back in her seat, "Just a question, Lady. I mean we are probably the last three people on Earth now, so it's not a bad question."

Nadine took a second to process this and said, "Well, he was the only one that hasn't threatened to kill me, or I have not threatened to kill."

Rachel grinned, "See? That's a start."

"Ladies," Harold announced, "We are nearing the docks of Alcatraz. Load up, and get ready. Let's find whatever we need in here and get out. I don't want to stick around a second more than we have to."


	6. Chapter 6: The Rock

Chapter Six

* * *

"_Doctor Richtofen, it is my great pleasure to tell you we have completed training._"

"_**So soon?**_"

"_Yes, it appears after the barrier is broken, the beasts have an incredible ability to retain information, and even process it!_"

"_**Wonderful news.**_"

"_You will tell me what you are going to do with them now, correct?_"

"_**First, let me ask this. Are they trained to obey me?**_"

"_We are working on this right now. Currently only about half of them recognise you as their leader._"

"_**As I told you before, finish the job first, then you will know my secrets.**_"

* * *

Something was surely wrong. Nadine was able to keep Danny's raygun. The others could trade weapons. Doctor Richtofen had never once spoke of a time where he could do that. All of the possibilities ran through her head, but she couldn't figure out anything without cold, hard facts. Either way, she did not have much time to keep wondering about these strange events. Harold stopped the boat next to the docks of Alcatraz. He slowly moved the boat up and bumped up against the wood.

"Everyone out," Harold said, "I do believe this is our stop."

They climbed out one by one out of the boat and onto the docks. The prison sure seemed quite a lot larger up close. Cell windows covered the walls of the main building, iron bars already beginning to rust. Stairs led up from the docks to a gondola that was probably used to escort prisoners or cargo to the higher cell blocks.

Finally, Rachel broke the silence, "Okay, so now we're here. What the hell are we looking for?"

Nadine pulled out Danny's raygun, and gripped it tightly, "Gat Acid, I would assume. This prison used to be a major producer of Gat Acid back when it actually held prisoners."

"Let's find it and leave, I do not want to stay here longer than we must," Harold said quickly.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What's the rush big guy?" Rachel asked, "Don't tell me you're afraid of a prison more than zombies."

"You really are a moron aren't you?" He snapped, "It's not the prison I fear, it's what remains here. These people had nothing to do, but get stronger through their hate. I can only assume that would be transferred into their undead form!"

"I do not have time for this," Nadine muttered before climbing her way up the stairs, leaving Harold and Rachel to argue on their own. She stepped inside the gondola, and rode it all the way up to the top floor of the main cell block, "I'm surrounded by idiots!"

* * *

After digging through each and every cell for even the smallest of clue to the acid's location, Nadine found herself wandering the tunnels below the prison. Some of the doorways had been closed off, but since Sam's game seemed to be broken for now she was allowed deeper inside. The metal lined hallways slowly faded into stone as she ventured deeper into the rock. Strangely still, no zombies had attacked her. She hadn't even seen one when they reached the island. This moment of rest let her think about the day's events, about what was left to do, and about Danny. Nadine didn't know the kid for that long, but Rachel had a point. They were more than likely the last three left unturned.

She tried to think back to the days before this got out of hand. Doctor Richtofen would use the newly found element to bring dead bodies back to life. Each day she would help the doctor with his dissections, experiments on the element, and study the creatures when he was gone. This, of course, was back in the time she came from. The world was plunged into it's second global war, and Germany was on it's downfall. Officials in the Nazi army had ordered the wonder weapon project to increase their pace, for the war would be lost if they did not replicate these weapons soon. This was when Nadine was hired, right at the peak of group 935's success. For about a year she repeated her daily routine with the doctor, until the zombies got out of hand. She was sent into the future to recover some cure Doctor Richtofen had mentioned, however he refused to into much detail about it.

Even though he acted strangely, she brushed it off and began the search. Nadine, however, did not expect the events to come. Most of all she was shocked about Danny, why though? Did she develop feelings for the American? Nonsense! There had to be a more logical explanation to it.

Nadine eventually reached a large room, which had many tunnels leading out, a catwalk with broken stairs, and old cells that had started caving in. She slid down the side of the rock into the center of the room and walked out into the center. _Seems this part was for the worst prisoners, huh?_

"Glad to see I'm not the only one who thought of checking the other rooms!" a familiar voice yelled.

Nadine spun around to see Harold sliding down from another tunnel into the center room, followed by Rachel.

"Damn!" Rachel exclaimed, "I had no idea a prison looked like this on the inside!"

"Typically they do not," Harold said, "This appears to be part of the island the prison was built on, although I don't understand why they would build such a place here."

"Well, Alcatraz was a major producer of Gat Acid, which was used to create weapons such as the Vitriolic Withering. Also it is a wonderful Catalyst for chemistry, but the only way to make Gat Acid is from pure 115."

"I suppose that explains why I found the rock," Harold muttered.

Rachel scratched her head, "Wait. What? Did I miss something?"

Nadine pulled her cap down over her eyes and frowned, "Alcatraz was a producer of Gat Acid. This would require a huge amount of Pure, or Unrefined Element 115. The prison was built on top of the largest 115 meteorite on the planet."

Rachel tilted her head, "And this is good…?"

"No," Nadine muttered, "The zombies are at their strongest around Pure 115. They mutate into stronger forms… and we just walked right into Samantha's trap."

The room began to rumble as the three drew their weapons. The stone beneath their feet exploded; chunks of concrete blasted all around, smashing into the already-crumbling walls of the prison. A massive undead figure rose from the floor, growling and glaring with blood red eyes. His scowl pierced the very souls of the group, fear rushing through their bodies.

"You can't escape your sins..." His voice dripped with venom.

For a moment the three paused; they'd never encountered a zombie with the inherent ability to speak. Chains wrapped around his body, a warden's uniform clearly visible, yet greatly stretched due to his uncommonly large size. His helmet tucked neatly over his head; unlike everything else, this stood out the most. _Something to keep in mind, ja? His helmet seems precious to him, as if his only concern was his most vulnerable spot... _Nadine grinned as she thought to herself. _Postponing the inevitable, it seems? We'll see soon enough. _The shock instilled into the survivors is very short-lived; the zombie roared and barreled towards them, gripping his night stick firmly as he raised it to let a rippling swing towards Nadine. She gasped and jumped out of the way- the night stick barely knocking her shoe and she is sent tumbling to the ground. She lost her grip on the Ray gun, and watched it slide somewhere off to the side.

Her landing is quickly announced by a sharp cry as her leg twisted when it hit the stone. She hesitantly pulled her leg away, screaming in agony. Harold attempted to come to her aid, but is thrown back by a single smack from the monster's punch. Thankfully, he is tossed back into a wall. He gasped for a breath as his knees buckled unexpectedly. Incapacitated, he has no choice but to watch as the warden comes to hit him a second time. Thinking a step ahead, Rachel leaped to grab hold of the Ray Gun and fired a few shots to keep the zombie off of Harold. The blasts hit their target and dissipate as he turned around and roared once more. His ridiculous speed forced Rachel to fire inaccurate shots off in his direction. To her surprise, one found its mark and knocked the helmet off of her assailant. Having lost his helmet, the zombie bellowed with such an intensity that the foundation of the prison rocked vigorously.

Seeing as though she is the only savior for the group, Rachel frowned and began to think around the brute. She swiftly gathered herself and jumped onto the catwalk of the second floor of the prison. Pulling herself up, she turned and lunged onto the back of the monster. He faced his back towards a wall and slammed her against it with such force that her breath left her in an instant. In one final act of survival, she painfully placed the Ray Gun on his head, and pulled the trigger. The shot hits hard, and the zombie groaned and fell to his knees, only to slam into the ground and disappear with one final blast of fire. Rachel landed on the concrete, yet again losing her breath. _Finally, the son of a bitch is dead. Good riddance._

Rachel ran to Harold, made sure he was fine, then hurried to Nadine.

Harold stood and groaned, "Nadine…" he stumbled, "Are you alright?"

Rachel helped her up on to her feet, "Yes, I can walk, but I don't think I can run from zombies in this condition."

Harold grabbed the Acid and walked over to the two girls, "Well, now that that's over-"

Suddenly, the room started shaking again as another hand came up from the rock directly below them. "WE'RE NOT FINISHED YET!" The hand's owner roared. It grabbed them and pulled them down into the rock. Below them was what appeared to be some kind of portal made of fire. Heat radiated from the circle and Nadine swore she had heard souls screaming for help.

"We're being dragged into hell!" Harold yelled.

"Crap! I didn't want to go there yet!" Rachel screamed.

With a flash of light, they were taken through the portal.

* * *

"Nadine!"

"German! Wake the fuck up!"

Nadine sat up quickly and Harold covered her mouth and whispered, "You must be quiet, the zombies have not noticed us yet. Rachel, what does it look like out there?"

Rachel was looking outside the window, "They're not tracking us like before. I think we can sneak away."

"Where are we now?" Nadine whispered.

Harold frowned and stared at her, "We're in the middle of the horde, at least a few hundred thousand zombies all trapped inside the center of this area."

"That's where we need to go then," she tried to stand then winced in pain.

"Doesn't look like you'll be moving that quickly. Perhaps we should take Rachel's advice and use stealth to our advantage," Harold muttered.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Did you just say we should go into the center of the horde?!" Rachel asked, "That's suicide! Did you not just hear the part about, oh I don't know, a gazillion or so zombies?"

"Exactly, either our way out, or what we need will be there," Nadine said, "That's how it's been so far, right?"

Rachel frowned and returned to the window as Harold helped Nadine stand.

"Anything out there we can use?" Harold asked, "We'll need some kind of plan to get to the center."

"I say we take what was given to us, a train," Rachel grinned, "Ram that sucker through the crowd and use it to get back out."

"Great idea, except for the fact that the three trains that are here are constantly moving in a circle at their fastest speed."

"It's all we've got right now. If you've got any oth-" Rachel stopped and stared out the window in total shock.

"What? What is it, Rachel?" Nadine asked.

"It's so weird…" She said," I think I just saw a zombie that looked like Danny."


	7. Chapter 7: Locomotion

Chapter Seven

* * *

"_**The world does not have time for any creatures that can not survive, I believe this philosophy applies to humans as well. Survival of the fittest. Ooh! I do love that phrase! This is why my poor poor associates had to be terminated. They were never part of my plan, although their help was necessary.**_

_**Stand.**_

_**Walk.**_

_**Sit.**_

_**Attack.**_

_**Regroup.**_

_**Repair.**_

_**I feel like a little boy that just got his hands on a new toy! My minions are the final part to my plan. Now all that is left is to eliminate the remaining resistance. This must be done in the correct way though, and I know what must be done to secure my victory. HA HA HA HA HA!"**_

* * *

"I don't think I heard you correctly…" Nadine said, "It sounded like you said Danny."

"Yep, that's what I said," Rachel continued to stare out the window, "I can't seem to find him again though. Weird."

"That's impossible, Rachel. We left him on the moon," She muttered, "Even if he did turn into a zombie, it's impossible for him to get back to Earth."

"I'm not saying it made sense, it just kinda… happened you know," Rachel replied.

"I miss Daniel as well, but we must focus on the task at hand," Harold added.

He walked over to the door with Nadine, and motioned for Rachel to follow, "Come along, might as well get this done and over with."

Rachel led the group. They walked along a parked train car and stopped at the edge. Nadine used the car to keep her balance as she poked her head around to see what they were up against.

The area appeared to be closed in by three trains constantly running on three closed train tracks. Somehow thousands of these creatures became stuck in the center of this train loop. The weirdest thing was, it was foggy, and it seemed thicker the closer you got to the center.

"Okay, so we can't even see what we're looking for here," Nadine said softly, "How are we going to get one of these trains in there?"

Harold cleared his throat and smiled, "This is where I believe my expertise will come in handy. We could use a switch track and reroute the train into the center. At the speed these locomotives are traveling, zombies on the tracks should not be a problem."

"Great, but won't we also need to be on that train?" Nadine added.

Rachel looked over at Nadine, "That's for you and me to worry about. Harold will be joining us after he switches the track."

"I never agreed to this!" Harold exclaimed.

"You kinda did with that whole 'Expertise' thing," grinned Rachel.

Nadine looked at Rachel, "Come on we have a train to catch."

* * *

Nadine and Rachel climbed up onto the roof of the station building they had hidden in. The trains circled in three tracks all side by side, and the first locomotive was almost to the station.

"Alright, German. Get ready to jump!" Rachel said as she got ready to go.

"You do know I'm injured right?" Nadine mumbled, "Or are you blind as well as stupid?"

"What? Could you repeat that?" Rachel yelled as she jumped off the edge, "I couldn't hear you over the sound of you being a dick!"

Nadine hobbled to the edge and flung herself toward the train. She slammed into the side and barely grabbed onto a bar that was attached to the roof of the train.

"DAMN IT, RACHEL! GET OVER HERE!" She screamed.

Rachel hopped from car to car and pulled her up to the top, "Ready to do it all over again?" she grinned.

"There has to be a simpler way to do this," Nadine groaned.

"Nope!" Rachel said enthusiastically.

She waited for the next train and took a leap, as did Nadine. They repeated this twice, until they reached the furthest train.

"Alright, it's up to our conductor now," Nadine said.

* * *

"Great job, Harold. You pretty much gave yourself the worst part of the job," He mumbled to himself as he weaved through the stationary train cars. There had been a few undead stragglers, but for the most part nothing had given him trouble. Eventually, he reached the inner circle, where the horde stood in front of him. To his right was the track switch, surrounded by three meager zombies. The old conductor fixed his glasses on his face, grinned and slowly advanced towards the walkers. As one of the three noticed him, it growled, raising its arms to grab him. Harold merely grabbed the arms, ripped them off, and knocked the zombie off its feet. He then proceeded to stomp on its face as he pulled his gun and shot another creature. With great marksmanship, the bullet easily passes through the head, right between the eyes. It fell to the ground, and caused the final zombie to catch his attention. This one, however, is somehow angered by its fallen friends, and groaned loudly and began to sprint towards Harold. He scoffed at the unnecessary vigor instilled in the monster and took a step back. The zombie's reflexes caused it to continue to run passed him; he grabed it by the back of the head, twirled it around him only to have the handle of the track switch enter through its mouth and out the back, right underneath Harold's arm. He then pulled the zombie off the handle, to have it hit the ground, dead. blood covered the handle and drips off, dark colored and diseased. A few teeth lay on the top, yet Harold is unfazed by this. He pulled a rag out of his pocket, wiped the handle, and pulled the handle down to make sure the train could now go to the center.

"Alright, it's done," He sighed in relief. "All in a day's work."

The train holding the girls blasted past him, nearly blowing his hat off of his head. He gave a salute, and watched the locomotive enter the dense fog. Within seconds the train was lost and the sound of it slamming onto the tracks dissipated. _Farewell, my friends, and do come back safely._

* * *

The train charged through the horde, and any that it had missed began chasing the locomotive. The fog too thick to see anything, and the zombies were screaming from all directions. Before passing the switch, Nadine and Rachel had worked their way up to the engine, and set up there until they reached wherever this track was going.

Nadine kneeled down and pointed her ray gun at the door, "I got this covered, just make sure they don't come through the windows."

"I honestly doubt that's going to be a problem," Rachel responded.

Within seconds, the cars leading up to the engine were filled with undead, and each of them were sprinting toward Nadine. Whom greeted them with explosions from her ray gun.

"That one's for Danny you undead pricks!" She yelled.

"Jeeze, German. You're starting to sound like me!" Rachel said to Nadine while knocking a zombie from one of the windows.

"And I'm not proud of that either!" Nadine blurted out, "Sterben Sie für Ihre Fehler, Zombies!"

Rachel elbowed a zombie that was trying to come in, "You're starting to freak me out a little bit. English please!"

"Nein!" Nadine yelled as she quickly reloaded and began firing again.

Suddenly, the train began to shake. They were out of track.

The locomotive fell over on it's side, throwing Nadine and Rachel all around the engine of the train. It slid down the side of a ditch and slowly came to a stop, smoke still piling out of the front.

Rachel got up onto her feet after getting her bearings quickly. She pulled Nadine out the window of the train, and up out of the ditch.

"C'mon, we're not done yet, German," Rachel muttered as she dragged Nadine out.

Strangely where the tracks had ended, had no fog, yet all around them was as thick as a cloud. A small wooden cabin was at the top of the hill, which the two entered. Inside was no furniture, no lights, just a wooden pedestal with an orange glowing rock.

"Seriously? It's just sitting here?" Rachel asked, "No like super hard puzzle to solve or anything?"

"Sam's game is decomposing," Nadine winced in pain, "Wall Weapons don't work, we can trade weapons, there are no perk machines. Something is definitely wrong here."

"Well, I don't care at this point, grab the damn rock," Rachel ordered.

Nadine pulled a glove from her coat and a small futuristic looking container, and placed the rock inside.

"There," She said, "Now we've got everyth-"

Before she could finish her sentence, there was a deafening zombie roar. They ran outside covering their ears, only to meet the horde all yelling in unison. The second the screech stopped, the thousands of zombies began sprinting toward them. Nadine did all she could with the ray gun, but even that just barely made a dent. Within a few seconds she was totally out of ammunition.

"This appears to be the end, Rachel," Nadine whispered and buried her head in Rachel's shoulder.

"Well, look at it this way, at least we'll get to burn in Hell with Danny," She muttered.

The zombies were inches away from tackling them to the ground, when a massive gust of wind tossed all of the beasts back, killing them in an instant. Nadine looked up, tears running down her face. What she saw was unbelievable. A person with a mask covering their face, and a hoodie over the rest of their head. This person carried a massive weapon which Nadine recognized instantly.

"Impossible! It's the Thunder Gun!" She squealed gleefully.

The human did a full circle twice, blasting back the horde with the Thunder Gun twice. Each time he used it, zombies exploded in the air, instantly meeting their death.

"We don't have much time, the rest of the horde will be here soon and I don't have enough ammunition for them," The man said.

"Wait, who are you, dude?" Rachel asked.

The man turned around and stared at them in total shock, "Impossible… it's you two."

"What?!" Nadine stammered, "you know us?!"

The man pulled back his hood, and lowed his bandana mask, "I don't just know you both, I traveled with you."

"Danny," Nadine whispered, her eyes starting to tear up.

"Yeah, it's me," Danny said softly.


	8. Chapter 8: The Storm Of Sorrows

Chapter Eight

* * *

"_**My name is Doctor Edward Richtofen. I am your master. You obey no one, except me. Within the next few hours, you will meet four people whom you will bring to me. I want them alive. **_

_**NO EXCEPTIONS.**_

_**I wish to greet them before their demise. This is the wish of the doctor. **_

_**NOW GO.**_"

* * *

_Danny is alive._ Nadine could hardly believe it. Out of no where the boy that had died because of her returned from the dead to keep her from burning in the depths of Hell. Where he had learned so much, she had no idea. Yet he had led them safely out of the area into the forest that surrounded the trains, refusing to stop and talk for a second. They had gone back and grabbed Harold, then Danny lead them to where he was hiding out.

Nadine followed closely behind, finally getting a chance to take a look at her hero. Danny had really changed. He was wearing a black hoodie that had been torn, repaired, and fixed with thin metal strips that acted as armor for his shoulders and elbows. His jeans were covered in mud and dirt, along with his combat boots. Also, he wore a bandana over the lower half of his face when the hoodie was up, like a bandit. This kid was definitely different. He sounded stronger, older, but most of all he sounded hurt.

"The cave is just up here. We should be safe from the approaching storm until it blows over," Danny said, "I have some food and ammunition, but not much else."

"Damn, Dan," Rachel exclaimed, "You really turned into quite the badass."

Danny remained silent, and Rachel turned to Nadine and mouthed, _What's his deal?_

She only shrugged in response.

* * *

The four entered the cave, and Danny started up a fire in the center, bringing light back to the tunnel. Four or five boxes were neatly lined up against the wall, which Danny pulled a few bottles of water and tossed one to the others.

"So, maybe our scientist friend can help me comprehend this," He said as he sat down next to the fire, "How are you three still alive?"

"Us?" Rachel blurted out, "What about you! I saw you get your face chewed off by a freakin' zombie!"

"I can vouch for our idiot here," Harold referred to Rachel, "We all saw you die, Daniel."

Nadine leaned against the cave wall and pulled her cap down more over her eyes, "Before we discuss anything further," She paused, "I want to be the first one to say I'm very happy to see you again, Danny."

"Right back atcha', Nadine," Danny smiled.

"Now," She continued, "Maybe we can figure this out if you explain what happened to you. Obviously something here is off."

Danny cleared his throat and took a long drink from his bottle, "Well," He started, "It happened on the moon. I jumped ahead of the group, like an idiot. You three lingered behind, the undead following us of course."

He took a second to pause and looked at the ground, tears forming in his eyes, "They caught up to you all, ripped off your oxygen tanks, and eventually the suits. I did all I could to save them… I mean… you guys. I killed them with my Thunder gun, but they had already done their damage."

A few tears dropped from his eyes as he looked over at Nadine, "In your dying breath, Nadine… you told me how to finish the cure. What I needed to know, how it would all fit together, everything. So that's what I did, I left. I learned how to survive. I scavenged until I was ready to gather the parts… then that's where we are now…"

Rachel and Harold were absolutely stunned, and were barely able to choke out a word. Nadine on the other hand, nodded and looked him in the eyes, "When did the events on the moon take place, Danny?" She asked tenderly.

"I don't know…" He muttered between his tears, "Three... four months, maybe?"

"Hmm… it's only been a few days for us," She muttered, "It's alright though. We're here, and still alive."

After a minute or so of silence, Harold sighed and looked at the group, "Well, seeing as how we are going to be here for a while, I'm going to explore this cave. Make sure no zombies got in while you were saving these two, Daniel."

"Right behind you, o' mighty train lord!" Rachel yelled causing Harold to glare at her, "It'd just be awkward if I stayed for this conversation."

They wandered deeper into the cave, leaving Danny and Nadine alone. There was a few minutes of awkward silence after they left. Eventually Nadine moved from her spot against the wall and sat next to Danny by the fire.

Danny was the first to break the silence, "Do you have any idea what may be going on? Like how you're alive? How I'm alive, I guess?"

"Well, it's a bit sketchy at the moment," she began, "but currently my guess is we fucked up time."

"Time?!" He blurted, "What gave you that idea?!"

"Okay, so along the way various things have not made much sense," Nadine began, "You died, yet you live. I died, only I didn't. Samantha's game fell apart, this is why we didn't see perks, chalk drawings of weapons, the pack-a-punch machine. Various things like this suggest a time paradox, where all realities exist and don't exist. Something though is holding the paradox in place, keeping the timeline from resetting and fixing itself."

"And that would be…?" Danny asked.

"I don't have a clue. That's about as far as I got," She shrugged.

Danny stared into the fire trying to work the situation out in his head. Nothing really made sense anymore. Then again, how could it? His last three friends just came back from the dead, and all he could do is ask why this miracle happened. He just remained silent, barely making a sound to even breathe.

"Danny," Nadine said softly after another few seconds of silence.

He looked at her, tears already building in his eyes.

"You're not alone anymore," She said before wrapping her arms around his shoulders, "I know how it feels, I'm living it right now. I just found out the only person I actually became friends with in this group is still alive."

Danny put one arm around her, then spoke, "I've killed people, Nadine. For supplies. They were living, breathing people and I just robbed them of their life so I could keep mine. So I could complete this task you… well the other you, I guess, gave me. I felt horrible, so I did all I could to protect the two that had not spotted me. Over time, their camp grew to around ten or so people as more stragglers wandered in, and to them I was known as the bandit. They gave me food and supplies, while in return I protected them. It repeated like this for a while… until the horde showed up and claimed all of their lives..." Danny buried his face in her shoulder.

"...Am I a bad person for not saving them, Nadine?" He sobbed quietly, "...Did I lose my humanity along the way, just like the zombies?"

"Zombies don't have regrets. Only people that actually care do," she said softly, " You tried to make up for your mistakes. Zombies would not even care."

Danny turned to look at her, "Thank you, Nadine." He gave a faint smile.

Nadine smiled in reply, and gently kissed his cheek, "You are a good person, Danny." She whispered into his ear.

Danny blushed and turned back toward the fire. Nadine took her arm from around him, and looked at him with concern, "Danny..?"

"I've wished to see you for months… and only dreamed you'd do that," He grinned, "I honestly can't explain this, Nadine." She couldn't help but smile too.

"I can't say it's been months, but it sure felt like it was ages ago," She muttered.

Danny quickly turned toward her and pressed his lips up against her's, catching her completely unprepared. After a minute, he leans back and looks at Nadine, "It kinda give a person hope that this will all end, and maybe life will return again."

For a short minute, Nadine and Danny just stared into each others eyes with a smile on their faces. Then a shout from behind one of the crates startled them both, "Hell Yeah! Did I call it, or did I call it, Harold?!"

Rachel and Harold poked out from behind some of the crates, "Yes, I do believe you predicted that one," He laughed softly.

Nadine's face turned bright red as she stood up, "STUPID AMERICAN! I HOPE YOU DIE FIRST!"

Rachel pointed at Danny, "Hey, watch it, Hitler youth. Your new boyfriend is American."

* * *

The storm outside was in full throttle as lightning struck all around, thunder echoing throughout the cave. Flashes lit up the cave walls, along with the bright light of the burning fire. The four of them sat around the flame trying to keep warm as winds from the storm blasted inside the cave. Nadine leaned against Danny, wrapped in his hoodie, while Rachel and Harold sat opposite of them.

"Tomorrow will be the hardest," Nadine mumbled, "We must construct the cure."

"Wait, we already have it all?!" Rachel yelled, "Why can't we just build it here?"

Danny chimed in, "The recipe requires extreme heat. The only way that the firestone will give off enough heat is if we put enough electrical current through it."

"A power plant," Harold muttered, "And the beasts will be in full blast I'm assuming?"

Danny nodded causing Harold to groan, "Great. Just great." He said as he pulled his cap over his eyes and leaned back against a crate.

"We need to rest then," Nadine said, "So we are prepared for tomorrow."

Rachel grinned as she rolled over onto the floor, "You two better not sleep together. Might make a baby in the middle of the night."

"Damn it, Rachel! Shut up!" Danny said, "You've been making that joke all night!"

Nadine frowned, and cuddled up closer to Danny.

After ten minutes or so everything settled down, and soon the storm was all that could be heard in the cave. Everyone had picked their spot on the floor and rolled over into an uneasy sleep, except for Nadine. She looked up at Danny, who had fallen asleep with his arms wrapped around her. Another bolt of electricity smashed into the ground, rattling the cave on impact.

_Tomorrow_, she thought as her eyes rolled to the floor and she slowly started to drift to sleep, _everything changes_.


	9. Chapter 9: Powerhouse

Chapter Nine

* * *

"_There are no secrets that time does not reveal._" - **Jean Racine**

* * *

The sweet serenity of sleep seemed short lived. Morning air had filled the cave and Danny was the first wake up and get the others moving. They packed as much food and supplies as they could and headed off toward their final destination. The four walked along a forest path that eventually faded into an open field with patches of dead grass and brush as far as the eye could see. Nadine walked with Danny, whom had an arm around her followed by Rachel and Harold who were in a debate over how zombies even got on the moon base. Nadine however was quiet and kept going over her check-list in her head and trying to plan ahead.

First, the gat acid must be combined with the pure 115 stone that Harold had found. Then, after the stone has been liquified, the captured souls must be injected inside the solution. The remaining gat acid should act as a catalyst according to the research she found at the 935 outpost and lower the energy required for the final reaction. The fire stone, when charged with a strong enough electrical current, should suffice. At least that's what the page had said… but even the page could be wrong.

Thoughts of all possible outcomes passed through Nadine's skull. These components could cause an explosion, could vaporize them even if the calculations were off. No. 935 was very accurate in their line of work. Still, even the best made simple errors...

Danny had glanced down at her and was quite surprised. Her face was pale, and she stared blankly in the distance.

"Nadine," He asked gently, "You all right?"

She shook her head and returned to the world, "huh? Oh. Yeah… yes. I'm fine," she lied, "Just...preparing myself for what's to come."

Danny sighed, "Well, nothing much we can do but just get it over with. The sooner the better, right?"

"Yes, but there is still another problem at hand," Nadine muttered, her mind still flying at a hundred miles an hour, "Even a time paradox doesn't explain some of these events. Well, maybe it does and I'm just looking at it from the wrong angle."

"What are you talking about?" He asked cluelessly.

"Well. I hope it's not just me, but I feel as if I've forgotten something. Like a puzzle missing a piece in the center. And it's not just a 'I don't remember this happening' sort of thing. I actually feel as if a clip of my memory is being withheld," she confessed.

"Hmm, I seem to have forgotten if I forgot anything," He said jokingly.

"Dammit Danny," Nadine frowned, "I'm serious!" She stopped walking and faced him. "Something else is seriously wrong here! We've messed up! Time is out of place and something is keeping it from self-repairing! And I'm positive something is blocking my memory!"

Danny took a step back and raised his hands in a surrender. Rachel and Harold stopped their debate to look at Nadine whom had already turned around and started walking again. Danny ran to catch up with her and after a quick apology resumed with his arm around her. Harold and Rachel just looked at them strangely, shook their heads, and continued forward.

* * *

The power plant was huge, inside and out. Huge generators lined the floors of the inner building with many catwalks lining the other three floors up. Two cooling towers were linked to the generators, but didn't have any steam releasing from it due to the station being shut down. On the second floor, after climbing a large set of stairs the group entered a small room that looked like something out of a sci-fi movie. Behind a thick layer of glass was a small metal ring that would hold the firestone in place.

Nadine quickly brought the station back online with the control panels to one side of the room. She glided over to the controls that were under the glass and started inserting pieces into slots, pouring ingredients, and flipping switches. Behind the glass the set up was forming as the firestone was placed under the empty flask that was held up by controllable metal hands.

Harold sighed and stared into the glass, "Did anyone else ever wonder how convenient all of these places are? I'm no electrician, but I'm positive this contraption is not in any other power station."

"Samantha set up our path before she lost control," She said as she continued messing with switches, "At least that's my current theory."

Danny gazed outside the doorway and looked down into the station, "Yep… won't be long now. This station's going to make a lot of noise. That means a lot of company."

Rachel grinned and cracked her knuckles, "This is going to be awesome. I fucking can't wait to kick some undead behind and be done with it all in the same day! Two for one! Woot!"

"You've yet to see the power, child." Nadine muttered in what seemed to be a different voice than her own. The others quickly glanced at her in surprise and she seemed just as shocked, "I swear… I didn't say that."

Before anyone else could say a word, the moment had come. Undead broke through the doors down on the bottom floor, spilling through the door like a flash flood. They sprinted up the stair and began their path into the room.

"Hold them off! I need more time!" Nadine yelled, "The solution just now finished liquefying the 115!"

"Aye, Aye Admiral Nazi!" Rachel yelled as she was the first to open fire on the approaching horde.

Loud gunfire filled the room mixed in with blasts from Danny's raygun that was returned to him. The beasts seemed to slowly become more and more resistant to bullets and other weapons along their journey, but now they barely seemed to make a dent at all.

"Aim for the head, Rachel!" Harold yelled, "You're just wasting time and ammo by hitting them in the chest!"

More creatures filled the room downstairs, all trying to find a quick way up into the room as if it was some sort of race to kill them all. Suddenly the familiar roar of Brutus filled the air above the zombie shrieks, only this time the massive creature just looked like a souped up version of his smaller counterparts. It climbed it's way up onto the catwalk, just like a little kid cutting in line.

"I'll distract this fellow, just keep them off me and away from the door!" Harold grinned and ran onto the catwalk to meet the beast head on. They stood face to face both wearing a sly grin on their face. The two stood at a stand still for a few seconds then their duel began with Harold firing the first shots from his rifle, each bullet ripping into the beast's skin. It howled in pain and lunged forward to tackle his opponent. Harold was smashed back against the wall of the building, all the wind leaving his lungs. He rolled to the side and fell down onto another catwalk, his rifle falling to the ground floor. After gasping for air he quickly returned to his feet to see the beast jumping down onto the same platform. Brutus ran forward in another attempt to tackle Harold, but he was ready this time. Since it lowered it's head when it charged forward, Harold was able to hop up onto it's back and dig his knife into the side of it's neck. The beast howled again, as he continued forcing the blade into the large zombie's neck. Harold brought out his handgun and fired seventeen bullets exactly through the open wounds. The monster fell on his stomach and finally died. Harold rolled onto his back and took a minute to catch his breath.

"You were more of a challenge back at Alcatraz, you freak of nature," He muttered between gasps for air.

Danny and Rachel were barely holding back the rest of the problem. A few had slipped through and Nadine took a quick second to curse the monsters as she murdered them, watching them hit the floor.

"I only need a few more minutes! Hold them off!" Nadine yelled, "All I need to do is charge the stone and let it react!"

"Whatever, Nadine! Just do it!" Danny yelled.

The final push of zombies came after the stone began burning. The stone that made the firestaff possible, would now end the plague… if it could keep burning long enough that is. Not only did they flood in through the doors now, but even the very foundation of the building gave way to their strength. The floors of the build cracked and let the monsters crawl up out of the Earth below.

"Here they come!" Harold yelled as he finally returned to the room with the others, "This is the end!"

The zombies seemed immune to the bullets that punctured their bodies. Even with missing limbs they continued their assault. The three gave all they could, holding back the force for only a minute or so more. Eventually things got too out of hand and the horde entered the room and tackled Danny, Rachel, and Harold to the ground. They struggled to keep the beasts from biting their skin, but the other zombies just ran to Nadine and pulled her from the machine.

"No!" Nadine yelled, "It's Over!" She made one final effort and slapped her hand down on the last button needed for the reaction. Zombies froze in place, released their grip on all four and retreated out of the building.

Nadine got to her feet and dusted off her lab coat. Danny, Rachel, and Harold all slowly stood up and wandered over to the window next to Nadine to gaze at their final creation.

The Cure was complete.

"My god," Harold gasped, "We've done it!"

Rachel grabbed the conductor's hand and started jumping up and down shouting, "Yeah! We fucking did it! No more undead monkeys to deal with!" Harold eventually joined in.

Nadine stared through the glass and Danny put a hand on her shoulder, "Good job, Nadine."

She smiled half heartedly and turned back toward the glass, she had missed something. She knew it. Suddenly she felt a sharp pain in her head, like a really bad migraine. She blinked heavily and briefly saw a few sequences of 0's and 1's floating in the air.

Danny grabbed her and looked at her with concern, "Nadine, Are you alright?!"

She stood up straight looked around and turned to face Danny. "What all has happened that was unexplainable, Danny? Quickly!"

He frowned and thought back to what had happened so far, "Well, what caused the Paradox, what's holding it, why Sam's game fell apart-" Nadine cut him off mid sentence by placing her hand over his mouth.

She turned to face Rachel and Harold, "Stop Celebrating. We've just made a worse mistake than we could have ever imagined."

The two stared blankly at Nadine as if she was a lunatic.

"You don't understand, I know what happened," Nadine began, "The 0's and 1's, Sam's game, all of it. How could I be so blind!"

"Explain it, Nadine!" Harold demanded, "Spit it out!"

Nadine took in a deep breath and lowered her head, "None of this is real. We've already lived this. We're reliving our memories due to my boss who demanded the cure for something other than the zombies. It cured their minds, and let him control their thoughts and actions... and we just showed him how to make it."

The room grew darker and a booming voice filled the air,"_**WA-HAHAHA! Ja! I am quite glad you finally figured this out doctor Meyer, or maybe I should refer to a name your companions will recognize, Nadine. HA HA HA! Well, my program did have some flaws. Trust me it's quite difficult using technology from the far future with today's components, but it worked! You've all been very useful pawns in this game, but now it's time you were replaced! Now, WAKE!"**_

Rachel, Danny, and Harold were speechless, but Nadine just raised her head to look at the others, "I'd like to introduce, Doctor Edward Richtofen. The man who just played all of us like cards."

Everything went dark.

* * *

Nadine woke in a small pod like thing, that had a thick, glass cover that was so fogged up she couldn't see through it. Her hands and legs were strapped down to her sides and some strange wired thing was around her forehead. The pod was moving, but it wasn't until it opened she realized where she was. The glass lifted, and she was blinded for a second by bright floodlights. Her pod released her and retreated after she stood.

Nadine found herself in the middle of a large arena like place with many lights pointing down at her. The walls were made of metal and stood at least fifty feet or so over her. Zombies surrounded the edges of the arena walls, all staring at her, but not even moving a muscle.

"Welcome Nadine!" Doctor Richtofen said over a loudspeaker, "To your grave!"


End file.
